(yoinked from another thread)


That would fairly describe today's adventure in changing the wiper motor. I followed the directions here as my Haynes manual has yet to arrive from amazon.com

More fun was discovering that the short plate that bolts to the motor, the one with the evil non-removable (in my attempts anyway) spring clip that is easily accessed by lying on your back, on the floor, with your butt hanging over the door sill and a mini-MagLite clamped in your teeth: this cannot be put back on 180 degrees from where it was originally, else you will see what happens when the wipers try to wipe the hood, not the windshield. It would probably also help to cycle the new motor a few times to ensure that it is in the "home" position before reassembling anything. I did not do this, but wish I had.

I've never replaced a wiper motor before so I know this for the next time, if ever, and now you do too.

I did not try to reuse the mastic material that came away with the old motor, which sealed the opening in the firewall, though. The rubber gasket through which the motor shaft goes was still pretty pliable. Should I be concerned about this?

The wiper motor was replaced just before I bought my 91 240, and they did use the caulking. Lately I have noticed that I have water in the passenger foot well after a hard rain.

I solved the problem temporarily by sliding the rubber sealing strip at the back of the hood to the passenger side, stopping the water from running down the firewall over the wiper motor. Yes, you need that caulking.

Ugh.

OK, thanks!

I re-sealed the motor this weekend with a glob of general-purpose gray mastic compound I bought at a hardware store for $2. Put a thick layer of the stuff around the motor shaft, the business end that goes through the firewall, and shoved it into place. Hope that does the trick, because I really hate the lying-on-floor-butt-hanging-out thing.